5 Bold Predictions for Denver Broncos' Week 7 Matchup
After defeating the New York Jets 31-17 in Week 6, the Denver Broncos return home for a much bigger challenge in the form of the San Francisco 49ers. The game will be featured on Sunday Night Football.
Both teams are playing great football, as the Broncos have scored at least 31 points in three of their five games this year. Meanwhile, San Francisco is the only team to have beaten the Dallas Cowboys this season.
Both Denver and San Francisco have Super Bowl aspirations, and a win on Sunday night would go a long way toward the goal.
These two teams met in the preseason when Denver handed the 49ers a 34-0 drubbing in the first game ever held inside Levi's Stadium.
Things will be different on Sunday night. For one, this game will count. While it's hard to imagine Denver winning by 34 points, here we have five bold predictions for this game.
Peyton Manning Breaks All-Time Touchdown Record
1 of 5
You're right, this isn't much of a bold prediction. However, in order to achieve the all-time career passing touchdown mark, Peyton Manning will have to throw at least three touchdown passes in this game.
San Francisco has only allowed one team, the Chicago Bears, to throw more than two touchdown passes against them this season.
Manning will also have to overcome his own personal history against the 49ers, a team that he has thrown more interceptions against than touchdowns.
"The #49ers are one of only two NFL teams that have bested Peyton Manning statistically. Manning has a negative 5-6 TD-INT ratio vs. SF.
— MileHighReport (@MileHighReport) October 14, 2014"
Still, it's Manning, it's Sunday Night Football, and it's a national television audience. Do you think those that make the schedule didn't foresee this as being a possibility?
It was a mere seven years ago when Brett Favre did this (video) to break Dan Marino's career record of 420 touchdown passes.
This Sunday, that record will fall.
Even if you're not a fan of the Denver Broncos, this would be a good game to watch. After all, you'll be witness to history.
Denver Will Hold Colin Kaepernick to Under 200 Passing Yards
2 of 5
On Monday night against St. Louis, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick had one of his best statistical days as a professional.
He passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns while compiling a quarterback rating of 120.5. This Sunday night, things will be much different for Kaepernick and the San Francisco passing attack.
First of all, San Francisco would be wise to employ the strategy of getting its running game going with Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde in order to control the clock and keep Peyton Manning and his offense off the field.
On top of that, the Broncos have given up just 241.4 yards through the air per game this season, and they have a much better secondary than the one Kaeperkick just faced in St. Louis.
But most importantly, the Broncos will have one thing that St. Louis clearly doesn't have—a pass rush.
Through five games, the Rams have just one sack on the season. That doesn't seem possible, but it's true. Against Denver, Kaepernick will be chased out of the pocket all night long by Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, forcing him to use his feet to pick up yardage, especially on third down.
Kaepernick is very capable of doing that, so Denver will need to be ready to keep a player like Nate Irving or T.J. Ward in to spy on him, but don't expect another aerial show from the 49ers this week.
Brandon Marshall Will Have His Best Game Yet
3 of 5
As reported by NFL.com on Tuesday, Danny Trevathan has been placed on injured reserve/designated for return due to the fracture he suffered in his left leg against the New York Jets.
That means the Broncos will once again have to turn to linebacker Brandon Marshall to give them a spark off the bench. Fans should have not be worried about that.
Trevathan is a very talented player and a huge loss for the defense, but Marshall has played well in his absence. He's done a little bit of everything.
Marshall not only leads Denver in tackles this season with 39, but he also has three tackles for a loss, one sack, a forced fumble and three passes defensed. He needs to show that he can step out into coverage, and that's where San Francisco will likely try to exploit him.
The 49ers would love to get tight end Vernon Davis matched up against Marshall, and that could be trouble for the Broncos. The defense needs to be prepared to help out in that scenario.
But look for Marshall to play a very aggressive game in which he reaches double figures in tackles while helping slow down the San Francisco rushing attack.
Expect to see rookie Corey Nelson play a big role on defense as well.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Ronnie Hillman Breaks Century Mark Again
4 of 5
Ronnie Hillman had never started a game in his career. He'd also never run for 100 yards in a game. He accomplished both feats on Sunday against the New York Jets.
The Jets came into the game boasting the No. 4-ranked rushing defense in the league, giving up just 83 yards a game. Behind Hillman, the Broncos racked up 138 yards on the ground.
Running the ball is something the Broncos would probably like to do more and more of to take the pressure off of Manning, so expect to see them run the ball a lot on Sunday night.
Against the Jets, Denver called 32 running plays and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. They'll look to have the same type of success against a 49ers team that allowed St. Louis to run for 93 yards in Week 6.
In that game, San Francisco gave up seven runs of at least five yards while allowing rookie running back Tre Mason to average eight yards per carry.
If St. Louis didn't have to abandon the run late in the game, they likely would have found more success.
The interior of the Denver offensive line will have its hands full trying to move San Francisco defensive tackle Justin Smith off the ball, but Hillman will be able to find some running lanes in this game on his way to another 100-yard effort.
The Broncos will sprinkle in rookie Juwan Thompson and be just as effective running the ball as they were against New York.
Denver Wins by Double Digits
5 of 5
This will be one of the Broncos' stiffest challenges of the 2014 season, and coming off of a choppy performance against the New York Jets, they'll want to be firing on all cylinders again.
San Francisco has only lost two games on the season, but in both of those, they were victimized by the passing game. In Week 2, Jay Cutler tossed four touchdowns against them, and in Week 3, they allowed 254 yards against Drew Stanton and the Arizona Cardinals.
Peyton Manning will attack the San Francisco secondary all night, and if the 49ers can't get any pressure on him, they'll be in for a long night.
Defensively, the Broncos will be able to slow down San Francisco's running game, forcing Colin Kaepernick to beat them through the air.
"49ers LB Patrick Willis unlikely to play this week with sprained toe http://t.co/VRjfsDi7Hb
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 14, 2014"
Wide receiver Michael Crabtree will find it hard to get separation, and if the Broncos use T.J. Ward to cover Anquan Boldin, he should be able to hold him in check as well.
Vernon Davis could be the 49ers' biggest weapon in this game, so the Broncos will have to be ready for him.
In the end, the Broncos will do enough on defense while also getting a solid performance from Ronnie Hillman. A good defense and an effective running game make Manning incredibly hard to beat.
Denver wins this one by a final score of 27-17.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
